Chapter 698 Godfather?

'Click!'

'Ah Yu, you're back!'

The door suddenly opened. Li Qian, who had just finished cooking and was chatting with Elena in the living room, reflexively looked at the door and just saw Xia Yu come in. She joyfully got up and shouted.

Elena also got up and smiled at Xia Yu.

'Sorry, I'm late!'

'No, the food was just finished two minutes ago, you got back just in time!'

'Let me see what's on the table? Wow...'

After some small talk, the three of them sat down at the table and started enjoying their dinner.

After dinner, Xia Yu turned on the TV. At that time, Global TV was broadcasting 'News 30 Minutes', which reported news related to Huaguang Real Estate and Huaguang Shipping. Xia Yu couldn't help but raise the corner of his mouth.

The Global News report was very fair and did not deliberately attack the two companies, but just the normal report was enough to cause fatal damage to the two companies.

With the viewing coverage of Global News, many citizens who originally did not know the news also learned about it, which will further increase market panic. This panic will ferment overnight and will be reflected in the stock price after the market opens tomorrow.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

'Ding dong! Ding dong!'

Xia Yu saw that Li Qian was about to get up, so he stopped her and said, 'It's probably Bao Sheng coming, I'll get the door!'

Bao Yu had just contacted him in the afternoon, saying that he planned to visit him in the evening. At this time, Xia Yu thought that the visitor was Bao Yu.

Just a quick look through the peephole, Xia Yu was a little surprised.

The visitor at the door was not Bao Yu, but his good friend Xia Lei.

Xia Yu was delighted and opened the door, 'Lei, what are you doing here? Come in!'

'Haha, Yu, have you finished eating?'

Xia Lei shouted with his loud voice.

'I just finished eating. Have you eaten?'

Xia Yu said, taking the fruit from his hand. He was a little surprised to find that he had also brought a briefcase.

But Xia Lei didn't give it to him, and he didn't ask, presuming that Xia Lei would tell him later.

'Hello, two sisters-in-law!'

Walking into the living room, Xia Lei saw the two women and bowed slightly, politely calling out to Li Qian and Elena, who had risen.

Li Qian's face flushed with two spots when Xia Lei called her sister-in-law. She hurriedly said to Xia Lei, 'Hello, please sit down!'

Li Qian had never met Xia Lei before, but she knew that he was Xia Yu's brother. Xia Lei's address made her both shy and happy, but she was a little surprised that he had also called Elena his sister-in-law.

Xia Yu was also at a loss for words at Xia Lei's unexpected move, and for a moment he looked at Elena.

However, Elena didn't understand, and just smiled slightly and said 'welcome'.

After sitting down, Elena reacted to the strange expressions of Li Qian and Xia Yu, and she whispered in Li Qian's ear to ask.

Li Qian thought about it and explained Xia Lei's meaning truthfully. Elena's fair face instantly turned pink, and Li Qian teased her with a giggle.

Elena's mood was mixed.

They also realised that Xia Yu and Xia Lei had something to discuss, so they told Xia Yu and left, leaving Xia Yu and Xia Lei alone in the living room.

Xia Lei glanced at the position of the staircase where the two women had disappeared, and winked at Xia Yu, laughing, 'Yu, you're amazing!'

Xia Yu said unkindly, 'She's my friend, and she called me sister-in-law without realising, making me feel embarrassed.'

Xia Lei was not the least bit embarrassed, and said nonchalantly, 'It's all the same, it's never wrong to shout it out in advance!'

'I can't help but think that my shout of "sister-in-law" has sped things up.'

Xia Yu was at a loss for words, and after thinking about it, he didn't bother correcting him.

But the thought did cross his mind.

He changed the subject and asked about Xia Lei's current situation.

'A Lei, how is your situation? Have you encountered any major problems during this time?'

Xia Lei shook his head with a smile and said, 'There have definitely been minor troubles, but no major ones yet. When we were expanding our influence, we were going to fight with a rival gang, but in the end I asked Brother Ma to arrange for someone to secretly kill the leaders, and the enemy was instantly disintegrated and easily annexed by me.'

'Right now, in Kowloon City, our influence is the greatest, and we have branches in Yau Tsim Mong District and Kwun Tong District. Excluding the company's regular staff, we now have more than 2,300 people on staff.'

Xia Yu was a little surprised and praised, 'Not bad, with more than 2,300 people, you barely make the top tier just by sheer numbers. However, you have developed for too short a time and the people you have recruited are not loyal enough, so you need to pay more attention.'

The top three powers in Xiangjiang each have more than 70,000 members, with the most having more than 100,000. Xia Lei only has a little more than 2,000 people, so he is indeed not as good as them, but he is considered a powerful figure in his own right.

Considering the many clans within the three major forces, many of them openly respect one leader, but in reality they all have their own agendas and fight their own battles.

Therefore, Xia Lei's power is not small.

Xia Lei nodded knowingly: 'I have been paying attention to it. We don't lack funds, and the momentum has been good. If it weren't for my control, I could have developed 4,000 people, and I wouldn't have only 2,000 people now.'

'In addition, I have already designed a strict management and operation system, which has strengthened centralisation of power, so the possibility of trouble is not high.'

Hearing this, Xia Yu was relieved and said with concern, 'That's good, but you should still pay attention. You must always bring enough bodyguards when you go out. When you are out and about, sometimes a single loophole can be fatal.'

Xia Lei laughed and said, 'Don't worry, Yu. I haven't helped you much yet, so I can't die so soon!'

'I'll come over tonight. There are more than ten people on the hill outside, plus this is your territory with lots of security, so nothing can happen.'

Xia Yu nodded with a smile, 'That's good!'

He then asked, "How is the development of the business on the straight and narrow?'

Speaking of this, Xia Lei came alive. He told him everything, "Compared to the last time you asked me, it's much better. We've expanded the scale in the catering and entertainment industries, and the magazine we publish, "Dragon Tiger Leopard," is also selling very well.

'Especially now that the film company has made quite a few films, this is so profitable. A director and a few assistants, the cost is particularly low, and it's filmed quickly. It feels like the money comes faster than running a gambling den, and the risk is even lower.'

Seeing Xia Lei enthusiastically talking about it, Xia Yu was a bit speechless.

At the same time, a thought couldn't help but pop up in his mind: Xia Lei wouldn't have gone down the 'wrong path', would he? Twenty years from now, he'll make a name for himself like 'The Godfather'.

But Xia Lei was right. This industry does make money, but considering the current and future environment in Xiangjiang, the market is bound to be difficult.

Huh, I can't help but think that Xia Lei's film company could develop towards the island country. That soil is suitable for his company to grow.

I think that in the future, the island country has also developed it into a pillar industry, with an annual export value of over 10 billion U.S. dollars. Considering its cost, basically, the more it exports, the more profit it makes.

Moreover, the legal red light district alone generates an annual economic benefit of over 60 billion US dollars.

Such a huge market is indeed worth joining, but as Xia Yu, it is not appropriate to get involved.

However, as Xia Lei, it is still very suitable.

Thinking about this, Xia Yu said to Xia Lei, 'Lei, your company should just make good films without coercion. If you get someone killed, you will be in trouble.'

'Seeing that you are making so much money, others in the underworld will definitely want a piece of the action. I suggest that you order your subordinates to set up a company in the island country. The market there is huge, and using islanders to make island movies and earn islanders' money is a good way forward.'

Upon hearing Xia Yu's words, Xia Lei's eyes lit up. He had full confidence in Xia Yu's business acumen, and he was able to build such a large business solely under Xia Yu's guidance.

And as Xia Yu said, seeing that his film company is so profitable and the threshold is low, many associations have already interfered and set up film companies, which has posed a certain threat and impact on him.

He had not previously understood the market of the island country, but now that Xia Yu had said so, he had already decided that when he got back, he would have someone investigate it properly and then follow Xia Yu's instructions.

'Yu, I'll listen to you and have someone go ahead and implement it when I get back.'

'By the way, Ah Yu, your video game machine is really popular. Every day the game hall is full, and I placed another order, so together with the previous one, I have bought 600 video game machines from you.'

The price of the five arcade machines ranges from 2,300 to 2,500 US dollars, so the average price is 2,400 US dollars. These 600 arcade machines also cost 1.44 million US dollars, which is more than 6.6 million Hong Kong dollars. This is a pretty big business for Xia Yu.

'As long as business is good, but pay more attention to fire prevention, don't have accidents, it's troublesome if there are casualties.'

'I remember.'

'A Lei, is there anything else you want to tell me?'

Saying this, Xia Yu looked at the briefcase Xia Lei had dropped.